New Rochelle Police Confiscate Loaded .9mm Semi-Automatic Carbine from Monroe College Basketball Player, Former Coach of the Year Fired

Following a physical altercation last November between two players on the Monroe College women's basketball team, New Rochelle Police took custody of a loaded .9mm semi-automatic carbine owned by one of the players. The gun was turned over to the police by Monroe College officials after an investigation by campus security into alleged death threats made by one of the student-athletes.

The altercation took place on October 31, 2011 at the team's dormitory at 14 Franklin Avenue in New Rochelle, NY. The loaded gun was discovered hidden inside a storage trunk in a dorm room across the street at 5 Franklin Avenue and reported to the police by Clifton Hollingsworth, the Director of Public Safety for Monroe College, on November 3, 2011. Talk of the Sound first learned of the incident last month based on an anonymous tip.

Unauthorized possession of a rifle, shotgun or handgun on a college campus is a illegal in New York State, even for legally registered weapons. Criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree is a Class A misdemeanor. The failure to make a timely report of a crime or "imminent threat" is a violation of the Clery Act, a federal law that deals with campus crime.

The two players involved in the altercation were Sydney Streater, 21, and Tamara Jones, a freshman.

Monroe College Vice President of Administration David Dimond said the argument that preceded to the physical altercation was related to a series of thefts in the women’s basketball dorm. There are no police reports of burglaries or robberies at 14 Franklin Avenue in 2011 or 2012.

In the aftermath of the incident Seth Goodman, the team's head coach, was fired. Streater was expelled. Jones was suspended for two months.

Goodman, the head coach of the Lady Mustangs since the 2001-02 season, is a former Women's Basketball Coaches Association Coach of the Year and the winningest sports coach in the school’s history. During his tenure, Goodman led the Monroe College women to a 180-35 (.837) record. He won three National Championships, five regional championships and was named WBCA coach of the Year for the 2005-06 season. The 2011-12 team he put together won what would have been his fourth National Championship in April 2012.

Streater, a 6’2” Center out of Rich East High School in Park Forest, IL was kicked in the side by Jones during the altercation on October 31st. The force of the blow caused Streater's spleen to rupture, inducing internal bleeding. She was taken to White Plains Hospital where she remained in the Intensive Care Unit for several days. Tamara Jones is a 6’0” Center out of Progress High School in Brooklyn, NY.

New Rochelle Police Detective Captain Joseph Schaller said his department first became aware of Streater when she was transported to White Plains Hospital.

“We investigated as part of the normal procedure in response to a situation like that.” said Schaller. “We were informed that the student had internal bleeding as the result of an assault. The injuries were not life-threatening and Streater refused to cooperate with police so no charges were filed.”

According to one source, Streater and Jones continued to argue via text messages while Streater was in the ICU. The argument escalated until Streater sent a text message stating that she had a gun and intended to kill Jones and her mother. Other students claimed that Streater had made similar threats in the past.

Dimond says Streater denied making any threats. Attempts to reach Streater for comment were unsuccessful.

Clifton Hollingsworth, a Director of Public Safety at the school told police that he subsequently obtained information that Streater had a gun. Hollingsworth and campus security searched the dormitory at 14 Franklin Avenue and found live ammunition in Streater's backpack.

Dimond told Talk of the Sound that he and Hollingsworth went to White Plains Hospital to confront Streater who stated that she was in possession of a "black rifle". Streater told Dimond and Hollingsworth that the rifle was locked in a "black chest" in her friends Apartment at 5 Franklin Avenue, another Monroe College dormitory across the street.

According to police records obtained by Talk of the Sound, Hollingsworth told police that he and campus security went to 5 Franklin Avenue, located a locked black chest, bypassed the lock and opened the chest.

Dimond disputed this account stating that the chest was not opened until it was brought to the security office. Dimond stated that the school's priority was the safety of the students.

“We will do that it takes to protect the safety of our students," said Dimond. "We're not going to tolerate behavior that threatens the community. We are managers of the campus and this community and we take great care in what we do. It is emotional for us. We care about these students.”

Monroe College Executive Vice President Marc Jerome echoed those sentiments.

Neither of the two Monroe College officials appeared to have a clear understanding of the dangerous weapon Streater brought to campus. Jerome described the weapon as a ".22 rifle". Dimond described the gun as an "old, non-working rifle".

Dimond reacted with surprise upon learning the gun had a live .9mm round in the chamber.

The Hi-Point Model 995-B gained notoriety as one of the guns used by Eric Harris when he and Dylan Klebold committed the Columbine High School massacre.

The gun is often referred to by gun enthusiasts as the Planet of the Apes gun because it appears similar to the weapon used by the Gorilla soldiers in the original Charlton Heston film.

The Hi-Point Model 995-B weighs 5.75 pounds, has a 16.5 inch barrel, and takes several types of cartridges including 9x19mm Parabellum, .40 S&W, and .45 ACP. The standard feed system is a 10-round detachable box magazine but after the 1994 Federal assault weapons ban expired a 15-round magazine was made available. Accessories for the Hi-Point 995 include a laser, a 4x scope, an RGB scope, a red dot scope,, a forward grip, and a forward grip and flashlight. The 10-round magazine will also work with the Hi-Point C-9 .9mm pistol.

"It's used for home defense, target practice and hunting small game," said an employee of a company that manages marketing for Hi-Point Firearms in Ohio. The woman declined to be identified for this article.

Below is a video demonstrating the rapid firing capability of the Hi-Point 995-TS, the latest version of the 995-B which replaces the solid stock with a target stock.

There are 16 Comments

I have no doubt that there is a treasure trove of weapons contained in the rooms of Monroe Students. Many of these students are recruited from some pretty bad areas with the lure of free tuition, transportation and money. A halt on expansion should be the minimum we tolerate.

Don't blame Monroe, blame the administration that let Monroe into New Roc in favor of decent retail stores.

Did you write your Mayor to let IdoniII know what a bang up job he is doing of bringing New Rochelle to its knees?

The 'minimum we tolerate'? You're kidding, right? New Rochellians tolerated their city turning into a toilet over three decades+, they'll tolerate the expansion of Monroe and much, much, much, much, much, much more. Yeah, that much.

“We will do that it takes to protect the safety of our students," said Dimond. "We're not going to tolerate behavior that threatens the community. We are managers of the campus and this community and we take great care in what we do. It is emotional for us. We care about these students.”

Then why are we exposed to the seemingly monthly reports of fighting in the streets, mob parades down North Ave, police reports of violent incidents, terrorized hotel guests, complaints at the Avalon that houses your "students", people being left bloodied in alleys. Do us a favor, stay out of our community, stay out of our parks.
Monroe College is out of control. The community is "threatened" every day. You may mean well but, as I said, you're out of control.

The students at Monroe make the students from Iona College seem like Alter Boys. Iona has listened to the neighbors a bit because they need to go to The City Council for their zoning changes, their location in a more residential neighborhood than business district. Iona College also doesn’t look to expand outside their half mile safety zone or on campus up into other areas surrounding their campus except Presidents Street and Mayflower Avenue. Why because of the exclusive CR1 Zoning they have. Iona College wants to keep up their Image for Public Relations reasons. Their students and their parents pay a lot more money for their education at Iona College, as do all of the generous Alumni and other donors to the college.

NR, you make a very good point. Don't blame Monroe; blame the administration that let Monroe into New Roc in favor of decent retail stores. I have been trying to make a similar point with regards to the Iona College growth issues. It is all of the current and past administrations and poor planning that are to blame. Not the College itself.

Taking it a little further, Monroe College and Iona College are institutions not objects in control. People have asked me why so many people hate Iona College. They can’t be further away from the point. The neighbors don’t hate Iona College. Many of us are Alumni and still attend or use the facilities there. It is a very good institution and we welcome their success. However, we do have a major problem with the people that are responsible for their development. Be it The Iona College Legal Board of Trustees, Plant and Property, Buildings and Grounds, Office of Finance and Administration, Director for Operations, we don’t really know. Dr. Nyre is not even a person that should be held accountable at this point. He is a good man with a large college to run and has stepped into a big mess left over from Br. Ligouri. These plans go way back before Dr. Nyre’s starting at Iona College replacing Br Lighuori last year. The issues here are not the institutions but those that are calling the shots. The behind the scenes wheeler and dealers pulling the political strings with the city and the city as well.

I said it before, look at the amount of time and energy spent posting back and forth about the librarian, videos and the many other items that have happened in the news lately. To bad people don’t put the same effort into the problems of The City of New Rochelle as they do sex scandals that will slip away with time. While, behind the scenes the School Board and City of New Rochelle issues carry similar common themes, No management and No accountability in our City of New Rochelle staff, City Management, The City Council and The City School Board.

There is a majority vote that keeps these people in place. If the City of New Rochelle staff, City Management, City Council and the City School Board worked for a normal business most of them would be fired and out on the streets. They would work under the eyes of a business plan, an ethics code, would be held more accountable for their actions and have a board of directors looking at the profits.

It is not only the day to day problems you face but the choices, decisions and solutions of the people we entrust with our children, our city and our lives. Wake up New Rochelle, put the same effort and fight in to holding your elected officials, their staff and appointees accountable. Get them on track and insist that they follow the City Charter and get to work or get out of the way because the people want to take back New Rochelle.

I find it fascinating that one day the monroe business institute changed it's name to college and these poor kids who attend are allowed to be taken advantage of. Leave it to this clown David Dimond who appoints himself protector of the community. Ya really have to admire these frauds for pulling the wool over all of the community's politicians. Can we get a picture of this David Dimond person so we know what he looks like? It'd be nice for everyone to know who the real leader of New Rochelle is instead of our elected officials. I'd even stop and shake his hand and tell him what a fine job he's doing of stealing our tax dollars and destroying our fine city by polluting it with filthy gang members. This might be the biggest racquet in all of New Rochelle, possibly the state. If I'm correct, Marc Jerome is the BID chairman? This guy doesn't care about New Rochelle, he wants cheap rent for his maniacs to live in so he can make more $$ and bring it back to Englewood New Jersey.

Provocative postings, but often to the heart of the matter. Earlier I wanted to see if anyone would read the Daily News Opt Ed page to see what the eminent E.L. Doctorow wrote concerning downtown NYU expansion. I did that primarily to see whether the uninvested "enablers"; in this case, mostly our residents north of New Rochelle Road, would see the relationship of Doctorow's thesis to the issues faced in a similar context in New Rochelle viz Iona and Monroe.

Since little of the angst experienced downtown or around the North avenue corridor is felt by Doctorow and others, it is easy to pontificate.

Yes, there are differences in application and meaning, in student bodies, and neighborhood constructs, among NYU, Iona, and Monroe, but it presents us with the long standing problem that there are two New Rochelles, the "ins" and the "outs" and the one hope we have as a community is to recognize this fact and get people of good will throughout New Rochelle to own up to this, empathize with being an "out" and thus, to open up the entire City for development. I am compelled to tell Mr Doctorow that families, lower income in most cases, but families, with children, hopes, dreams, needs, aspirations, live here and want the same opportunities the "Ins' have up and beyond New Rochelle Road.

That said, I am not going to blame Marc Jerome and I am not going to label the student body. I have many ex students attending Monroe. Jerome is a business man and very successful. I am sure he has a lot to worry about on the private student loan squeeze issues. I am not even going to blame the Administration who are truly the enablers in this situation. L am simply going to say that our current state with Iona and with Monroe is unsustainable. It is beyond any logic in urban planning, any sense of empowerment or enfranchisement for a significant part of the New Rochelle population and it must end NOW.

Marc Jerome you have every right to pursue a path to grow your college. However your tactical plan should not take advantage of the cupidity or stupidity of elected officials who (1) accept you and your family's campaign donations or (2) turn their head away when you lobby to place yourself as the head of BID. I accuse you of nothing but insensitivity and request you resign immediately.

I also request that the City Administration especially the most directly affected members of the City Council, enter into a long term and totally transparent planning arrangement with Monroe especially around growth and expansion. It needs to conform to community needs -- seen via its Comprehensive 1996 Plan via land use, etal --- and be very awareness of the core responsibility to attract for profit commercial businesses, increase tax revenue, and all the ancilliary business aspects that go along with that.

The serious issues Marc you face with a small portion of your student body is committee worthy, but in a lesser venue. That is something you can and should arrange with Chuck Strome.

Iona is different in some regards. Monroe employs"urban creep and sprawl" a building at a time. Iona misleads and places the administration in a headlock. They obfuscate, block transparency and deal a if they are entitled to ignore statute, resolution, even pushing aside community and I think, ethical behavior.

Yet, they too need to grow and expand and the same remedy applies to them and the City Administration and that remedy is a long range planning project that opens up the entire City, engages the council and is transparent to the community.

Here too, Strome can form his forces to work with the Iona people in the more irksome, egregious affronts to our property owners.

I want to bear witness to the intelligence and commitment of the posters on this and other TOTS blogs. Look for example, at the thoroughness of the McCaffrey analysis and report. Mr Mayor, you do not have anyone more on the ball than Bob and, modestly, yours truly. But, we are not ever part of your planning. As such the City suffers and the Council mistakenly misidentifies its role by allowing solid, committed community resources to be ignored, because their views lie south of yours, or they are not in the proper zip code, "frame of mind" or whatever else. There is a lot of improvement but much more to do. Look at the other posters on this blog..... don't read in "racism" but weigh content and intent. If being racist can be correctly placed at a poster's doorpath, is this worse than "elitist?"

The issues as defined are clear and troublesome and the times create people's mindset and feelings. Often these are situational as you all in Council and Administration should know. If you pile up your less than attractive initiatives in West New Rochelle, a fine man like Martin Sanchez might claim with some justification, that this is a form of Environmental Racism. Is he or any of you are racist. No, he is not and you are not. The prevailing facts make the case.

Do I think Doctorow is an eltist? Frankly no. Such a man could not write, for example, Billy Bathgate with its descriptive eloquence. But, he is silent, all too silent on his community who are in a related set of circumstances that lead some, myself included to say, look down here and help clarify this for your friends and neighbors up north.

WE want a place at the table. We want to know, be heard, see progress in areas that make no sense on their face. We hear nothing prescriptive, substantial about how the City works with the diminishing returns of the New Rochelle School District. Saying nothing is tragic given its economic consequences as well as the ludicrous lack of acknowledgement of the impact that the district has on investment.

You praise BID and give financial rewards to its director but are not concerned that a college head runs it at the board level and maybe less concerned that its director hasn't a clue as to what is transpiring in Avalon, Trump Tower, etc.... not a clue. You got him isolated in Westchester Place with no demands other than FORM ....nothing of substance.

I speak for a number of people who have energy, talent and with no apology, a strong whiff of cynicism because our skills, knowledge, and yes, compassion are not used. We are like shadows on the landscape.

Use us and use us well. You got to wake up to the fact that the best and brightest are often the ones who surprise us the most.

If you are a lawyer and are reading this.... think of Hugo Black. If you are a liberal progressive... forget Kennedy, look toward Lyndon Johnson.

Of course the posters are entirely correct. Monroe has not been a good neighbor not because it is evil or profit-making (power to them for that!) but mainly because its relationships have been made only with politicians and not with the "ordinary" community. You know, the property owners, citizens, taxpayers and renters, voters, stakeholders etc. who make up the soul and heart of the city.

Nothing wrong with Monroe's constructive dealings with politicos; it is sensible and makes good business practice. My only beef is that unlike other communities that I have been involved with (South Bronx, Chicago, Syracuse) ours seems to be the only one where area businesses, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and non-profits deal directly only with elected officials and refuse to have any, official or unofficial contact wit the aforementioned community of citizens.

Is it just me or does it seem that the owning family and executives of Monroe, the administrations of Iona and CNR, Sound Shore Hospital, and the most prominent business establishments et al seem to have carefully groomed their connections with City Hall, city council and the city manager's office to the exclusion of more direct "street level" involvement with us, the "great unwashed" hoi polloi ?

Further evidence to me of the comprehensive and overwhelming "hold" that the Democrat Party political edifice continues to exert over the city, its schools, and apparently a very significant portion of the private sector of businesses and institutions. Whatever one's political persuasion or affiliation may be, I do not see how this state of affairs does any good for the accountability of the political class or the civic-mindedness of a private sector that in most communities is looked to for provision of necessary products, services and public benefits.

It is not only the Republican Party and other political organizations who should be blamed; their inability to provide an effective and meaningful "loyal opposition" to the majority's monopolistic practical dominion over New Rochelle is long-standing and accustomed. But it is the private, non-profit and NGO sector that should be taken to task for participating in or allowing to fester a custom of exclusive access and accommodation to political power and board memberships; examples: membership and control of New Rochelle's BID and IDA; constitution of official planning, zoning and assessment bodies; even control of the less overtly political historical, artistic and cultural institutions, parade bodies and the like.

Machine control may provide a convenient means for a majority party to run its mechanism of patronage and spoils, but it by no means offers anything remotely positive or constructive in the way of dynamic, creative, diligent, or honest management of a city teeming with nearly 80,000 residents but with no apparent civic purpose other than perpetuation of that very machine.

s it just me or does it seem that the owning family and executives of Monroe, the administrations of Iona and CNR, Sound Shore Hospital, and the most prominent business establishments et al seem to have carefully groomed their connections with City Hall, city council and the city manager's office to the exclusion of more direct "street level" involvement with us, the "great unwashed" hoi polloi?

That's what Idoni I and II are all about, themselves and their own bank accounts.

What are the citizens of New Rochelle going to do about it? Oh yeah, that's right, nothing.